Christmas Fun

We had a great time on our vacation! First we stopped at Universal Orlando. Harry Potter World was pretty cool. We loved Hogwarts Castle, the butter beer (non-alcoholic of course), and Dakota conquered her fear of roller-coasters, riding the Hippogriff 17 times.

Teacups make me sick, but Bryce and the kids love them!

Our next adventure was our cruise.  We left from Port Canaveral and stopped in Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  The kids loved the beach, and while some of our group was enjoying the sunny weather...

others of us were scuba diving. I have to admit I was pretty anxious beforehand, but our dives were pretty cool. The coral and fish were beautiful, and we were lucky enough to find and watch two sea turtles.

The kids loved choosing dinner five nights in a row: spaghetti with ice-cream for dessert.

Hopefully more pics to come.

We're Ready This Time

We are ready for the snow this time. Hopefully Taylor can play in it for hours now. A few great lines from him today:

"Mom, this day is awful. The snow is melting. I have no snow to play in."
"Mom, can I sleep in the snow?"
"I am going to play in the snow forever, ok Mom?"

We knew this boy would love Iowa.

Rock Climbing

We have a great rock climbing gym 5 minutes from our house. Bryce took the kids and they loved it. I have one pic...the rest is on video. The kids climbed for two hours and loved every minute of it.

She's One!

Time flies. She's already one.

What do you get a girl who has all the clothes and toys she needs? The kids had plenty of ideas. They wrapped up her favorite things, some were already hers, others were theirs that they excitedly gave her. The kids had a blast, and Camryn loved her presents. She loved the car from Grandma which she opened first, and the kids couldn't get her to open anything else. After hiding the car, the kids got her to open the rest of her presents. She loved her puppy (stuffed, because Mom said no to a real one), blanket, and we discovered she loves baby dolls. She was so gentle. Happy Birthday Camryn!

The kids had to blow out her first candle, but on her second try she blew it out herself.

Loving Iowa

We are loving Iowa. A fresh start, new habits, new experiences for our family. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1.5 mile commute
Half-day Kindergarten with Mrs. Abbey
Nightly board games. (Our kids are fast at Dominion, and Taylor and Bryce can be found playing Risk until Mom says it's time for bed. Fun that our kids are old enough to play board games.)
Smiling kids in the morning in footy pajamas
Hot chocolate
Using the fireplace
Cute winter clothes on the kids
Fall leaves
Snow!

Cute Candids

Ever wonder if you should fix the problem or get the camera? I decided the germs from the trash could last another ten seconds for the camera.

This one is for Mindy. Taylor wanted lots of different pictures, in different places around the house with his bear "Teddy Cracker."

As always, Dakota with a smile for the camera, and Camryn, always wanting food.

Matching skirts. Thank you, seamstress Mindy!

Happy Halloween

Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair. We all loved the wig, although it was off by the first trunk at trunk-or-treating. At least it was on long enough for the picture. Taylor wanted to be Flynn Rider, frying pan and all. Unfortunately Disney doesn't make the costume, and I don't sew.....so Spiderman was second choice.

Moving

With three weeks to decide where to live, move, and start a job, I was very grateful for movers. The kids weren't. They wanted to pack boxes. In protest, they began packing up their room, all by themselves. I couldn't help but leave it packed.

Defense!

Dr. Daines defended today. Congratulations, Bryce! Thanks to Mom, Dad, and David for making the trip out. All that's left is revising the thesis.

Bryce with his mentor, Rui.

Preschool

While we only participated for about a month and a half, Dakota loved preschool. It was held twice a week, we rotated homes and taught one week out of the month, and every attendee was within a 3-minute drive. Dakota was definitely sad to leave her preschool friends: Mitchell, Summer, and Camille.

A few lessons I've learned

1.  Downsizing, unpacking, and finding homes for everything is almost impossible. My new motto: when in doubt, throw it out.

2.  After a week, I don't need the things I thought I had to have: second car, microwave. Convenient? Yes. Necessary? There is a lot we can be just fine without.

Two Wheels

We experienced a family milestone today when Taylor learned to ride on two wheels. The offer of a new bike was nearly enough to coax him into trying. What sealed the deal was an appeal to his competitive nature when Dakota indicated willingness to remove her own training wheels. Not to be outdone, Taylor promptly told his mother he was ready to ride on two wheels and Dad made the necessary adjustment. Alas, credit where credit is due, Taylor is a self-proclaimed-self-taught-two-wheeler. Way to go Taylor!

Backflip

This video needs little introduction. Can you say, 'future Olympic Trampoline Medalist'? (That is a sport, yes?) But seriously, Taylor's been having a great time at gymnastics.

Darling Dakota

Dakota was saying family prayer last night:

"Please bless we can go to the place that we like."

After the prayer I asked her, "Dakota...where is the place that we like?"

"The place we are going to move," she said.

"Where is that?"

"Hawaii!" Dakota replied

"Do you mean Iowa?"

"Oh yeah, I forgotted."

Family Pictures

Swim, Run, Bike - Try!

I did it! Saturday I completed my first triathlon! It was only a Sprint distance, but I loved it. The best part was having Bryce right next to me for half of the bike and run. Below are some shots from the race:



It was fun to have Nate and Mindy come out for the race, and see Brian and Ashley too. Brian cheered us on with Taylor and Dee, and Ashley took 3rd place for her age group and Mindy 5th.

Growing Up

Today is Taylor's first day of school. He enjoyed packing his lunch this morning and was quick to get ready. We enjoyed our walk to school and Taylor knew the way to his classroom, even though he's only been there once. Taylor is excited to meet new friends and I'm anxious to hear about his day when I pick him up.

Taylor with his teacher Mrs. Goff

Taylor was a little hesitant finding/choosing a seat, but once he found a chair, he sat right down, went to work, and was ready to be at school.

I already miss my boy and it's only 9:30, but I'm excited for him and enjoy watching him grow up and do big things.

Certified!

While in Spokane, a group of us certified to scuba dive. After a full day of course and pool work, we ventured out to the lake to complete our four open water dives. I wasn't scared or nervous going into the certification, but once we were in the lake with gear on and swimming, I got a little...or a lot...scared. If it weren't for Bryce's encouragement to finish, I probably wouldn't have certified. I'm glad I stuck with it, because I was much more comfortable by the end and actually enjoyed the last dive.

Cooking Challenge

Have you watched Iron Chef? Chopped? This week we got a taste of it with our own Daines Family cooking challenge. We had two rounds, six teams, one hour to cook, a basket of required ingredients, and a garage full of pantry items. Judging was based on taste, creativity, use of the ingredients and presentation.

Baskets in Round 1 contained a protein (different for each group), daikon...yes, we hadn't heard of it either, Reeses Pieces, and Greek yogurt. Competitors in Round 1:

Team Cupcake: Emily, Mindy, and Nate

Kaylee and Emily Shea

Team: That's us

Round 2 consisted of Josh Gill, Jake, and Dad; David and Malerie; Brian, Dawn Anne, and Amy Gill. Unfortunately I don't have pics. of Round 2 because the photographer was in Round 2.

The winning dish was a grilled lamb shank, seasoned with cilantro, garlic, and red curry paste, served with bell peppers, rice, and asparagus and covered in a red curry sauce. Plated with the main entre included a tempura of sweet potatoes and daikon dipped in a tasty Greek yogurt tempura sauce. And let's not forget the salad with a peanut sauce, sprinkled with Reeses Pieces and chocolate syrup, which David nicknamed "The kid who went to the salad bar and stopped at the dessert bar."

We had a fun afternoon and evening of cooking, rushing, tasting, and judging and Bryce and I are proud to hold the title of Cooking Champions at least for the next year.

Listed!